Flintoff confident of playing in the IPL

England's injury struck all-rounder Andrew Flintoff made it clear to his fans that he will not withdraw from the second edition of the IPL starting in April.

A key to England's success in recent times, Flintoff recently picked up a hip injury during the third test against the West Indies which might keep him out of the fourth test and also put him in doubt for the IPL.

Flintoff, along with teammate Kevin Pietersen, became the latest and the most expensive addition to the star studded IPL, being bought by Chennai Super Kings for US$ 1.55 million.

Flintoff, who had thought of the prospect of playing in the IPL as "great fun", will be doing so ahead of a hectic schedule back home, where they take on the West Indies and the Aussies in the Ashes.

But there are still concerns over his participation as the ECB might not want to risk adding on to his injury with the English summer coming up, followed by the ICC 20-20 world cup. As of now though, Flintoff still remains in doubt for the final test against the West Indies, in which case the ECB might not allow him to participate in the IPL due to injury concerns.

David Collier, the ECB's chief executive, said in The Guardian that they could force any player to withdraw who "was carrying an injury that may affect his participation in the Ashes series".

Flintoff however remains hopeful and is optimistic about his recovery. "I don't think it will be touch and go," he said. "The IPL's still a while away so for all intents and purposes I'll be fit for that. I'm intending to go but it's not really at the forefront of my thinking. I want to play Test cricket and I want to play the one-day internationals.

"I'm not in the Barbados Test and there's a chance I'll play in Trinidad but I'll have to see how it settles down. We'll see how the next week goes. If we've got to get it rescanned, we'll see what happens. If I'm being honest I don't know."